Released in 1983 on the collector-oriented Lobster Records label, The Last Child is an exceptional, raw, and highly sought-after live archival document capturing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble right at the explosive dawn of their mainstream breakthrough. Recorded during the pivotal touring cycle for Texas Flood, this fiery performance showcases the guitar virtuoso playing with an unbridled, visceral intensity that would soon redefine modern blues-rock. The setlist brilliantly balances quintessential early staples like Pride and Joy and Love Struck Baby alongside his deeply reverent, earth-shaking live interpretations of Jimi Hendrix masterpieces, including Voodoo Chile, Little Wing, and 3rd Stone From the Sun. Preserved in pristine high-fidelity, this rare archive acts as an incredible time capsule of a guitar titan claiming his throne on the global stage.

Released in 2007 by Epic and Legacy, Solos, Sessions & Encores is an extraordinary, deeply historical compilation that shifts the spotlight from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s work with Double Trouble to his legendary status as music's ultimate collaborator. This brilliantly curated set collects rare studio sessions and electrifying live guest appearances where the Texas guitar icon traded scorching licks with his heroes, peers, and disciples. The musical pairings are nothing short of monumental: from an explosive live summit on The Sky Is Crying with Albert King, B.B. King, and Paul Butterfield, to fiery guitar duels alongside Jeff Beck, Albert Collins, and his brother Jimmie Vaughan. Rounding out this pristine high-fidelity archive are essential studio tracks, including his legendary surf-rock collaboration with Dick Dale on Pipeline and his world-shaking guitar work on David Bowie's global mega-hit Let's Dance. For blues purists and guitar enthusiasts alike, this record stands as a definitive, exhilarating document of SRV's immense generosity of spirit and unmatched musical genius.

While 2002's Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble is the place to go for the complete picture, Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan works well as a nice single-disc introduction to the work of the influential blues guitarist. Perhaps a few more hits could have been included to make this more attractive to the curious buyer, but with a previously unreleased live version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and a track listing that dodges much of the 1995 Greatest Hits collection, this does offer an alternative for longtime fans.

Originally recorded for the Canadian television program In Session in 1983, this was a historic meeting of two artists that has been proven to be a very special moment This famed live jam session by Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan has proven to be an evening that will never be forgotten. "It was evident from the first choruses," writes liner notes author/musicologist Samuel Charters, "that they were playing for each other. And that was the best audience either of them could ever have. The music never lost its intensity, its quality of something very important being handed back and forth and there was time for Stevie and Albert to see where their ideas took them."

Stevie Ray Vaughan became the biggest new star in the blues and an overnight guitar hero after the release of his 1983 debut album Texas Flood. But Vaughan played on an even bigger hit album that same year; he was the lead guitarist on the sessions for David Bowie's commercial comeback Let's Dance, and was originally slated to tour as part of Bowie's backing band. Last minute disputes led to Vaughan dropping out of Bowie's group, with Earl Slick taking his place for the Serious Moonlight Tour, which became one of the year's biggest concert draws. Space Oddity was recorded during rehearsals for the tour, shortly before Vaughan dropped out, and gives fans an opportunity to hear how these tunes from Bowie's catalog would have sounded on-stage with Vaughan lending his skills to the performances.

Live Alive is a magnificent double-length showcase for Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar playing, featuring a number of extended jams on a selection of most of the best material from Vaughan's first three albums, plus covers of "Willie the Wimp," "I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime)," and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." The album may not be exceptionally tight or concise, but then again, that's not the point. The renditions here sound less polished than the studio versions, with Vaughan's guitar tone bitingly down and dirty and his playing spontaneous and passionate.

By adding two members to Double Trouble – keyboardist Reese Wynans and saxophonist Joe Sublett – Stevie Ray Vaughan indicated he wanted to add soul and R&B inflections to his basic blues sound, and Soul to Soul does exactly that. It's still a modern blues album, yet it has a wider sonic palette, finding Vaughan fusing a variety of blues, rock, and R&B styles. Most of this is done through covers – notably Hank Ballard's "Look at Little Sister," the exquisitely jazzy "Gone Home," and Doyle Bramhall's impassioned soul-blues "Change It" – but Vaughan's songwriting occasionally follows suit, as well.

Stevie Ray Vaughan's second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, pretty much did everything a second album should do: it confirmed that the acclaimed debut was no fluke, while matching, if not bettering, the sales of its predecessor, thereby cementing Vaughan's status as a giant of modern blues. So why does it feel like a letdown? Perhaps because it simply offers more of the same, all the while relying heavily on covers. Of the eight songs, half are covers, while two of his four originals are instrumentals – not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives the impression that Vaughan threw the album together in a rush, even if he didn't.

This four-disc, 68-track collection paints a broad definition of the blues, with cuts ranging from vintage country blues (Robert Johnson's “Cross Road Blues,” Son House's “Death Letter Blues”) to uptown jazz blues (Nina Simone's “Blues for My Mama,” Billie Holiday's “Billie’s Blues”), Chicago blues (a live version of “Howling Wolf” by Muddy Waters), British blues (Jeff Beck's “JB’s Blues”), and contemporary acoustic blues (“Am I Wrong” by Keb' Mo'), with plenty of stops in between, making for a random but varied playlist that circles the different approaches and musical definitions of the genre.

It's hard to overestimate the impact Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut, Texas Flood, had upon its release in 1983. At that point, blues was no longer hip, the way it was in the '60s. Texas Flood changed all that, climbing into the Top 40 and spending over half a year on the charts, which was practically unheard of for a blues recording. Vaughan became a genuine star and, in doing so, sparked a revitalization of the blues. This was a monumental impact, but his critics claimed that, no matter how prodigious Vaughan's instrumental talents were, he didn't forge a distinctive voice; instead, he wore his influences on his sleeve, whether it was Albert King's pinched yet muscular soloing or Larry Davis' emotive singing.

Stevie Ray Vaughan's battle with drink and drug addiction during the mid-eighties was well documented, thus his triumphant return with fourth studio album 'In Step' in June 1989 was met with much relief and huge enthusiasm by fans and critics alike. His return was of course to be cut tragically short however when the horrific helicopter crash that ended his life took place little more than a year later.